The invention relates to a method for authentication of accreditations or of messages with zero-knowledge proof and to a method for the signing of messages. The invention also relates to a system for executing such authentication method and signing method and to a station for use in such a system.
The invention finds application in the verification of the authenticity of bank cards referred to as "smart" or, more generally, of the authenticity of any medium permitting its holder to control an access (to a set of premises, to a safe, to a database, to a computerized system, to a telephone line, etc.). It is also applicable to the verification of the authenticity of messages of any type, that are capable of controlling an opening or a closing, activating or deactivating a system, controlling the starting of an engine, controlling a satellite, triggering an alarm etc.. Finally, the invention permits the signing of a message in such a manner that its addressee is assured of its origin, and can in turn convince a third party as to such origin.